My Vision of Heaven

By Ryan Habbena

A Glimpse of the Glory of the New Jerusalem

I have a vision of heaven. It is mine. It was commissioned for me by Jesus of Nazareth Himself. From the outset, though, let me make it clear – I did not personally see anything with my eyes, nor was my spirit taken into another realm to see the mysteries of God. This vision was given to a brother of mine, and delivered to me by him. If you are believer in the genuine Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth this same brother, the beloved disciple John, has delivered this same vision to you. And we have it preserved for us in the book commissioned by Christ for us, and sealed by His authority. At the outset of this unveiling we read:

The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, who testified to God’s word and to the testimony about Jesus Christ, in all he saw. Blessed is the one who reads and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near! – Revelation 1:1-3

When I was taking my first steps as a believer in Jesus of Nazareth I frequented Christian bookstores. I had a thirst to know more about this great salvation that had been extended to me. The Scriptures were certainly primary, but I also wanted to read of other peoples’ testimonies and belief systems. As I was perusing a local book proprietor one day, a particular book caught my eye. It was an account of a woman purporting to have been taken to heaven. She came back and chronicled her supposed testimony of a grandiose experience of speaking to Jesus and seeing the dynamics of heaven. The more I read and contemplated this woman’s account, the more it bothered me. What I was reading did not correspond with what I knew the Scriptures taught. “Surely,” my young naïve mind thought – “no one would make up such a story.” Yet, as my Christian life progressed, I encountered many more people proclaiming to have visited both heaven and hell; returning with visions and messages that greatly conflicted with both Scripture and each other.

I have my own vision of heaven. I can say with full assurance that it is true. It is well detailed, magnificent, and given to me by Christ Himself. You see, the King saw fit to give us all a vision of heaven. We need nothing more than this. It is our hope and it is sure. In the book of Revelation, we read that the Apostle John was in exile on the Isle of Patmos. In this context, the King appeared to the beloved apostle. He tells us that:

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me, and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades. Therefore write what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

John chronicles the culmination of the cosmic conflict, with the sure victory belonging to the Lamb and His people. Within John’s vision we are given a glimpse of the New Heaven, the New Earth, and the New Jerusalem. This vision was given to John to be given to us. This is our vision of heaven. Allow me to share with you some of the magnificent truths and previews we receive of our eternal home.

The New City of the Great King

After the purging of the world by fire, we read of the glorious, renewed abode of the redeemed where God Himself will dwell:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” – Revelation 21:1-4

This vision given to John should stir our hope and grant us great encouragement. The land will be cleansed and God Himself will dwell with us. Every tear will be wiped away from the face of believers by the Ancient of Days. Pain and mourning will be a thing of the past. God dwells with His people in His holy city. This certain hope was delivered by Jesus of Nazareth. These words and promises were not new, but rather sang of the fulfilled promises granted to God’s people long ago. The ancient Israelites looked with great expectation to the coming of the eternal city – the New Jerusalem. There will be a new earth, a new heavens, with a new capital, where the King of all dwells with His people. While the natural descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob greatly anticipated the renewal of the land, the good news of Jesus of Nazareth proclaims that all – whether Jew or Gentile – who believe in the Gospel have this city as their hope and their eternal abode. The original recipients of Revelation were Christian churches in Asia Minor, primary populated by Gentile believers in the Jewish Messiah. Those who “conquer” are promised this city and all of its glories and blessings as their inheritance. Most importantly in all of this is restored and intimate fellowship with the Father, Jesus Himself, and the Spirit. The Father Himself announces: “The one who conquers will have this inheritance, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelation 21:7)

We further read of the wondrous aspects of this abode that was revealed to John:

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. – Revelation 21:9-14

I certainly believe John’s vision is describing a literal, magnificent city that will be in the renewed land of God’s promise. At this time, we can only get a partial glimpse of its glory with our minds as we anxiously wait to see it in our raised bodies with our eyes renewed. Yet, there is powerful significance in what these details proclaim. Through John’s account we see that the one who enters the city does so through one of its twelve gates. These gates are inscribed with names of the twelve tribes of Israel. This stirs up remembrance of the promise given by God to Abraham that He would give this land to his offspring, and also bless all the nations through him (See Genesis 12, 15, 22).

Furthermore, this feature of the coming city links the revelation given to John to a vision that Ezekiel was granted about the coming Jerusalem. It was revealed to the prophet of the exile that: “These will be the exits of the city: Beginning on the north side, which is 4,500 measures long, the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel” (Ezekiel 48:30-31). Being that these are the gates where people enter in, these beautifully picture that it is through God’s promise to Abraham and His offspring that He has blessed the world, and all who have faith like Abraham enter His Kingdom. But the “foundations” of the city focus even more intensely on the means of redemption.

The twelve foundations of the city have the names of the twelve apostles of Jesus. As the redeemed see these names inscribed on the foundation stones of the city, this will bring to remembrance that it is the message of the Lamb, carried to the nations by His twelve apostles, that is the solid immovable foundation of both Jew and Gentile in the city of God. These same truths are taught by Paul in Ephesians when He declares:

So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. The whole building is being fitted together in Him and is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit. – Ephesians 2:19-21

Our Hope of Glory

This vision, granted to John and commissioned for all of us who are privileged slaves of the King, is utterly magnificent. It should stir our hope and expectation to live now in light of the coming Kingdom. Our ambition is to be pleasing to the one who has made us heirs of these marvelous promises. For our Father is relentlessly dedicated to fulfilling His good purposes in His children. Our hope is secure in the One who endured the cross to become the living-giving Lamb. The Father’s promises regarding our future and secure and steadfast. Paul declares:

But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved! He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. – Ephesians 2:4-7

What glory! What Good News!

Clinging to our Vision of Heaven

In my life as a Christian, I have read many accounts of heavenly visitations. Every couple of years a new book with this subject arrives on the bookshelves. Often times, these works stir up people to great hope and expectation. Yet, most of the time these are replete with messages that conflict with the Bible. These visions are not where our hopes lay. Rather, our hopes lay in the promises delivered by Jesus Christ and His chosen apostles and prophets – those who delivered the faith once and for all. I would exhort those who find fascination with the continuing “visions of heaven” to dispense of that which is on shifting sands and stand firmly on the rock of the word of Christ. His word and revelation are true and will certainly not bring disappointment to those that find their hope in Him.

I have my vision of heaven. If you are believer in Jesus of Nazareth, so do you. He gave it to you. It is secured vision not subjected to discredit, nor will it prove false. This vision has the seal of the Savior upon it. It is glorious. It is sufficient. It is our hope. Learn it and live by it. And may we all walk in the footsteps of our father in the faith, Abraham, who “by faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:9-10)